You were previously signed up to Reveal’s Shoptalk newsletter — Shoptalk is no more, but we have replaced it with a new regular view on some of our most interesting SA retail spending data.
So welcome to this edition of INSIGHTS, a newsletter by Reveal Data.
In this week’s edition:
The unstoppable power of Sixty60's retention.
PnP asap! holding ground behind Sixty60.
How does Takealot’s customer base help stay in the game.
TRENDING
The Sixty60 Machine
Last week, the Shoprite group announced its annual results and, for the first time, shared Checkers Sixty60's performance. The numbers are hard to ignore: a whopping R18.9bn in revenue, up 47.7% year-on-year. The service now operates across 694 stores, and accounts for 8.9% of all grocery sales in South Africa.
To frame that:
Sixty60’s revenue is bigger than Spar’s entire market cap (R10.5 billion) and nearly matches Pick n Pay (R19.96 billion).
It’s also already 40% the size of the entire Woolworths Food.
In other words, Sixty60 is eating competitors - on the go - for lunch. But the real story here isn’t only scale; it’s stickiness.
Why retention makes Sixty60 unstoppable
In digital retail, retention is the real prize. Customer acquisition may be expensive, but when shoppers keep coming back, lifetime value skyrockets.
This is exactly where Sixty60 sets itself apart, and our data reveals just how sticky Sixty60 is.
83% of first-time Sixty60 customers return for a second order.
Of those, 80% go on to buy three times or more.
Overall, more than 66% of people who try Sixty60 end up buying at least three times a year.
To put that into context, global app retention hovers around 30%. Sixty60 is more than double that.
This isn’t just strong performance - it’s category-defining.
PnP asap! is holding ground, but behind
Pick n Pay’s asap! delivers a fair performance, but it still trails Sixty60’s lead:
71% of first-time buyers order again.
Of those, 74% become 3+ time users.
Overall, 52% of trial users convert to three or more purchases.
Respectable, but well behind Sixty60’s two-thirds.
Takealot has a big base, but weaker stickiness
Last week, we showed that by customer amounts, Takealot is still the largest, with one in four online shoppers in SA buying at least once a year from them. But our data reveals that buying more than once is a challenge.
Takealot still commands South Africa’s largest e-commerce audience, but retention is its Achilles’ heel:
Only 52% of first-time customers make a second order.
Of those, just 55% reach a third.
That means only 28% of new customers convert into 3+ time buyers.
The result? Roughly half of Takealot’s annual transactions are from one-time shoppers, underscoring the challenge of building deeper loyalty.
Why it matters
Stickiness translates directly into customer value.
In this case, it shows up as a higher monthly spend: on average, a Sixty60 shopper spends nearly 50% more per month than a PnP asap! customer and 25% more than on Takealot.
Combine that with Sixty60’s first-mover advantage and strong presence in higher-income towns and holiday destinations, and the picture sharpens: they’re not just acquiring more customers, they’re keeping the most valuable ones.
The result is a growth flywheel that competitors will find hard to break.
That said, PnP asap! is also proving its ability to retain customers at above-industry rates.
As its footprint expands, the real question is whether Sixty60 can keep scaling at its current pace - or if the gap will start to narrow…
In the next 12 months, where do you think online grocery will grow fastest?
BITES
Walmart is coming
Walmart is planning to open its first retail store in South Africa by the end of the year. The company described the expansion as a strategic move to provide South African consumers with greater access to affordable, high-quality products.
Leroy Merlin Launches a Tailored Mobile App for SA DIY Shoppers
Leroy Merlin South Africa has introduced the nation’s first mobile-first hardware app optimised for low-connectivity environments. The app features real-time stock visibility and in-app self-checkout, revolutionising how South Africans shop for DIY and home improvement products.
BNPL could be the key to the biggest Black Friday yet.
South Africa’s four biggest banks are publishing varying expectations on whether Black Friday 2025 will mirror or surpass last year’s online transaction and spending levels. The retail sector is gearing up for a potentially significant digital shopping surge, and BNPL is likely to play a big role in it.
GO DEEPER
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Our intuitive dashboards and custom analytics empower retailers, brands, and agencies to make faster, data-driven decisions. Whether it’s
✅ spotting category winners,
✅ identifying high-value customers, or
✅ tracking real-time market changes.
For anyone needing a sharper lens on how South Africans actually shop, Reveal is the edge.
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